In today’s issue:

1. OpenAi introduces ChatGPT-4o - what it means to you

2. Google’s project Astra - could this be the future of AI assistants?

3. Reduce time entering into Salesforce to nearly zero: New Outlook add-in gets your data to Salesforce effortlessly

4. Is it really “Failing Fast”?

5. News, Need-to-know, and Stats:

   • Billionaire wants to buy TikTok, dump the algorithm, make it more privacy-centric

   • Apple launches eye-tracking tech

   • Disney, Warner & Fox team-up to create ultra-sports streaming service

   • Music industry vets are finding lost recordings from your favorite musicians

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OpenAI introduces ChatGPT-4o

Even as users grapple to figure out how to use ChatGPT-3.5, 4.0 and other types of generative AI, OpenAI releases ChatGPT-4o. No; that’s not a typo, just a stupid way to make a name more complicated. It’s a lower case ‘o’; not a zero — and it stands for ‘omni’.

With the latest version of this genAI product, OpenAI is introducing new ways to interact with its knowledge base and merging some of its modules that the company suggests will make it faster and less prone to some types of mistakes.

To the user, the most noticeable recent enhancements that are in 4o include…

Users can upload images and receive detailed descriptions, answers to questions about the images, and even modifications to the images.

Longer context retention — that is, it can have longer conversations with you and still retain the information that was in the earlier parts of the conversation. This should make it more accurate because you can continue to refine your questions and requests to get closer to what you really want.

Advanced error handling including better disclaimers when ChatGPT is not sure about the answer.

Better code building for software developers

I’ve been experimenting to understand just how far the new versions have taken the product versus the older versions and compared to doing it myself manually. What I learned might surprise you… read the full article on Confirmed Achiever Blog.

Google’s project Astra

At Google’s I/O 2024 conference, earlier this month, Google made ~100 announcements. The standout, though, was for an experimental feature called Project Astra.

In this unique and powerful application of GenAI, the company has been working on a virtual assistant, powered by video images and voice to help you get through your busy day.

In the demonstrations, a user was able to use their cellular phone camera to take in the environment around them — where they are, what’s on each table, what each object might be — and to ask (by voice) questions about what the camera is seeing. In this astounding demonstration, we get the questions answered by a friendly voice coming from the phone while the camera continues to process and reflect what it is seeing.

Google also made a recording that will amaze you as it…

• Identifies objects in the room after being asked only “Tell me when you see something that [does this].”

• Responds correctly to “What does this do?”

• Correctly identifies the neighborhood when pointed out the window to see nearby buildings.

• Finds an object that the user misplaced. (My wife would love this for her glasses and her keys.)

Watch Google’s short demo video on YouTube.

Reduce time entering into Salesforce to nearly zero

Tired of entering data into Salesforce? Would you like to have your inbound emails entered for you with a couple clicks — and saving you valuable time every day?

You’re probably a good candidate for Confirmed Connect, an add-in to Microsoft Outlook that streamlines the entry of emails from Outlook to Salesforce, helps keep your Salesforce info up-to-date, and makes it easier for everybody on the team to align their daily activities to the needs of the organization.

This unique tool takes one-minute to install; five-minutes to set up — and saves every user hours every week. Plus, it’s inexpensive, making the payback one of the fastest paybacks on any tool you’ve ever implemented.

If you have a team of AT LEAST 10 people who can benefit from reducing the time and effort of keeping Salesforce up-to-date, schedule a personalized demo.

Is it really “Failing Fast”?

Today’s quote comes from a licensed professional counselor who has worked with many people to help them overcome attitudes that hold them back. It refers to fear of failure - where you hold yourself back from an activity because you’re concerned you will not succeed.

But industry has proven time and again that trying something, even though you might not succeed at first in achieving your desired goal, is an important part of continued success.

In his book, Hidden Potential, University of Pennsylvania professor, Adam Grant, discusses how people who have become multilingual are more likely to become that way because they do not worry about making mistakes when they first start using a language. Instead they discard thoughts about saying something incorrect or even having people snicker at them. It’s part of the experience. According to Grant, children don’t learn languages easier than adults because of their age or some difference in their brains. They learn languages easier because they naturally don’t get embarrassed because they make a mistake. They ignore the mistakes and concentrate on the next phrase.

In his seminal book, “The Lean Startup”, Eric Reis coined the term “fail fast” to describe how companies who create software should release products quickly and often, even if they’re not complete - as long as they are MVPs (minimum viable products), because they’ll get user feedback and be able to make their products better from there. It’s a concept that could help companies in many industries.

Personally, I hate the phrase “fail fast” because Reis is not really suggesting you fail; he’s suggesting you learn. There is no failure in the fail fast concept; it’s a misnomer. I’d rather “learn fast" and “react promptly”. But that’s just symantics. The philosphy of getting some feedback and moving forward instead of staying still holds — whatever you call it.

Let’s take that a step further. Instead of releasing MVP minimum VIABLE products, at Confirmed, we attempt to release MLPs — minimum LOVABLE products. If you decide to use Confirmed Connect (which I described above), you’ll understand why. BTW — thanks to Professor Grant for the MLP idea as well. Focusing on a product that, at minimum, clients love using, helps our team provide excellent customer experiences and outcomes from our products and services.

Schedule like a Road Warrior; Manage your day like a Time Titan!

Confirmed helps you reclaim that time by offering you a better way to set up your meetings on the road — using A.I., of course.

• Billionaire wants to buy TikTok, dump the algorithm, make it more privacy-centric

• Apple launches eye-tracking tech

• Disney, Warner & Fox team-up to create ultra-sports streaming service

• Music industry vets are finding lost recordings from your favorite musicians

The last word

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David